The business of Internet, wireless, and telecom law.
Technorati Tags: Spectrum,FCC,NTIA,Senator Kerry
In 2003, President Bush issued an Executive Order entitled “Spectrum Policy for the 21st Century” ordering the Department of Commerce’s NTIA to identify spectrum and propose policies for the spectrum’s more efficient use. The Federal Government Spectrum Task Force was created led by NTIA and consisting of all the departments except for [...]
Yesterday FCC Commissioner McDowell released a letter addressed to Acting Chairman Copps. One great suggestion (see the list) in his letter was the proposal that the Commission schedule in advance Open Meeting dates. Commissioner McDowell explained:
We need to improve our external communications regarding FCC processes and actions. As an immediate first step, I suggest that [...]
On September 17, 2007, only 10 days after the Pulvermedia’s FMC conference in Chicago where Sprint discussed its future femtocell plans, Sprint formerly announced that it would immediately start offering its AIRAVE femtocell solution in Denver and Indianapolis. Sprint included a cool marketing video about AIRAVE and femtocells on the Sprint web site. While two trials [...]
A lot has been happening with MediaFlo mobile video. After considerable study, the European Union’s Executive Commission decided on July 18, 2007, that it would recommend that EU countries use Europe’s home grown DVB-H (“Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds”) standard, and not the MediaFlo standard. The EC decision may well have been driven by the fact [...]
Femtocells are going to move fast in the coming 12 months. Wireless carriers will push the residential gateway from zero units to millions. On August 13, 2007, Xchange Magazine reported that In-Stat is projecting that by 2011 there will be 40 million femtocells in use and 101 million users of femtocells. Femtocells are micro cell phone [...]
Femtocells could have a dramatic change on the cell phone service environment. ABI research predicts there will be 150 million femtocell users by 2012. That is from zero users today, as reported by GigaOm. On the other side of the race, In-Sat, as quoted in PDAStreet, projects there will be 200 million dual mode WiFi [...]
UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) is driving FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence). UMA is really WiFi and cell phones combined. ABI Research, as reported by InformationWeek, currently projects that there will be 65 million UMA users by 2012. The growth in UMA is happening without strategic thinking by the wireless providers. Almost like a small sound that will [...]
More significant than the iPhone (nothing could be that important…) this week there were several events that announced to the general public that fixed mobile convergence is hitting the mainstream. The interesting point is that is not exactly as FMC was anticipated back in 1990. In 1990, PCS “Personal Communication System” was touted as the [...]
It is important for Americans and for the U.S. regulatory policy that spectrum be purchased and used, not purchased and under used. Under utilization prevents competition and growth of broadband penetration. The problem with the FCC spectrum auctions, reflected in the highly politicized upcoming 700 MHz auction, is that many of the more recent auctions have been [...]
Former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt’s company, Frontline Wireless, is proposing that one of the requirements of the 700 Mhz auction is to require that certain spectrum be built out by the winner for public safety. GigaOM had a great blog on Frontline last month. I heard Chairman Hundt speak at the Boston TIECON 2007 conference [...]
